This week on the show, I thought I would review the PulsePoint app from the PulsePoint Foundation at PulsePoint.org. I’ve interviewed Richard Price from PulsePoint a few times on the MedicCast and featured him last year as an EMS 10 Innovator on the MedicCast TV weekly commentary but I’ve never actually reviewed the app itself.

For those of you who don’t know what it is, the PulsePoint app is a mobile app that connects bystander CPR trained individuals to any nearby reported cardiac arrests in a given jurisdiction. It works like this. First a jurisdiction has to sign up to integrate their computer dispatch system with the PulsePoint system.

Then, when a cardiac arrest is reported, not only are EMS, Fire and police crews dispatched, bystanders who have installed the app in the area are also alerted when they’re within about a 1/4 mile of the GPS location reported by the 911 call. It gives them walking directions to the location of the cardiac arrest patient and nearby AEDs.

Early Compressions Key to Saving Life

The goal is to get bystander compressions started as soon as possible, before EMS arrives on the scene, giving the patient the best chance of survival. This system has already saved countless lives and is installed in hundreds of jurisdictions worldwide.

In one of our initial segments from EMS World Expo in Las Vegas, MedicCast host Jamie Davis, the Podmedic was joined by Physio-Control, Inc CEO Brian Webster and PulsePoint Foundation President, Richard Price to talk about their ground breaking partnership to get more CPR trained responders to cardiac arrest patients around the world.

The novel PulsePoint app alerts CPR-trained citizens by smartphone of SCA (sudden cardiac arrest) emergencies in their proximity and provides the location of the nearest public access AEDs. Deployment of the PulsePoint app can significantly strengthen the “chain of survival” by improving bystander response to SCA victims and increasing the chance that lifesaving steps will be taken prior to the arrival of emergency medical services (EMS) professionals.

Brian and Richard share with Jamie some of the history of the partnership and what will happen moving forward as Physio-Control brings its global marketing efforts to bear on building awareness and usage of the Pulse Point mobile app in communities. We are certainly looking forward to more in the near future as more lives are saved by bystanders using this app to be called to help out.

The PulsePoint smartphone app is available to the public free of charge for Apple iOS and Google Android devices from the Apple App Store and Google Play. Public safety agencies interested in learning more about implementing PulsePoint in their communities should contact their local Physio-Control representative or call 800-442-1142.

The innovative PulsePoint Foundation created a mobile app that connects the CPR trained members of a community with cardiac arrest victims reported to local 911 dispatch centers. The Mobile app can also track and give directions to the nearest AED (automated external defibrillator) to shock the heart back to life. Watch the MedicCast TV interview below with PulsePoint President Richard Price.

MedicCast TV is the video version of shows created for the weekly MedicCast podcast, special interview segments, and video shorts with EMS and Health Related Commentary by Jamie Davis, the Podmedic.